


The Warm Sunlight

by tspofnutmeg



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post Sequel Trilogy, Rey doing Jedi Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 18:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16792315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tspofnutmeg/pseuds/tspofnutmeg
Summary: A Jedi knight, that’s what Rey is now. Well, she has been for a while, but she was hesitant to take on the title.





	The Warm Sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> An EXTREMELY late mini commission for my buddy Swara <3 
> 
> Maybe a larger part of a series of post sequel trilogy snapshots???

A Jedi knight, that’s what Rey is now. Well, she has been for a while, but she was hesitant to take on the title. Luke had been so against the Jedi continuing, something Rey only peripherally understands. It almost felt like a betrayal to take the status from her then reluctant master.

It was Finn who insists Rey call herself a Jedi. She rolls her eyes at first, agreeing it was awesome and mighty sounding, but the name of what she was wasn’t important.

The chair Finn sat in clatters against the floor as he shoots up in protest. Titles and ranks are important, he cries.  _ Names _ are important. What Rey - hero of the Resistance, restorer of good in the galaxy, bringer of balance - calls herself is important. Rey is a Jedi -  _ the  _ Jedi - and it  _ means _ something.

Rey still isn’t sure, but she trusts Finn.

The  _ Warm Sunlight _ has been in orbit around Ossus for the last five standard days. They came out here to collect information and knowledge from what was thought to be a Jedi Temple. Rey isn’t terribly interested, but she understands the importance of it, both for General Organa and to help stitch the Republic back together.

As much as Rey loves being in space, the ground always calls to her sooner or later. She decides not to take the  _ Falcon _ , as it always draws too much attention and - even though she can manage - is more difficult to fly by herself. She usually takes Finn or Rose on these excursions with her, but today it feels right to go alone.

One of the smaller landing shuttles isn’t scheduled for use until the next day, so Rey signs her out and starts up the engines. She’s careful maneuvering around the docking bay, the  _ Sunlight  _ is spacious, but currently very full. As soon as she hits clear space, she takes the opportunity to push the engines a little faster than anyone else would. Even flying a sluggish craft like this brings her joy. 

That’s really the difference between her and Poe. While Poe can certainly fly anything - and can’t be beat in an x-wing - he doesn’t. But Rey is a different story. X-wings, bombers, landing shuttles, capital ships, skyhoppers, she would never turn down a chance to fly. She’d even jump in one of the restored classic y-wings that were purely for show and went slower than Rey could run. She’d happily fly it and thank whoever it was for the opportunity afterward.

She didn’t want to waste too much fuel, so after a couple more loops she settles on a course to a dock in the heart of the closest city. She’s been down to the planet every day since the  _ Sunlight _ arrived, and the owners of the bay are kind and fair with their prices. She docks quickly, smiling while dropping her credits off on the way out.

Rey strides through town, her double bladed lightsaber strapped to her back as a comforting weight. People had questioned her habit at first, wondering if Jedi were supposed to patrol like common security officers. But Rey likes it. It gives her a purpose, something to do. In a way, it was like scavenging - for trouble rather than valuable mechanical parts - and it didn’t determine whether or not she’d be able to eat.

Thank goodness for that, Rey’s favorite pastime quickly became eating.

She checks in at stalls lining the street. Many of the beings running them already recognize her and smile brightly at her approach. It’s nice to have a legendary Jedi around, especially with the history of the Jedi on the planet, but Rey believes they also genuinely like her. They’ve all tried to give her goods or snacks from their stalls, but Rey insists on paying for everything. She doesn’t want to be treated differently, she doesn’t think she should be given a reward for doing what she had to do to save the galaxy. It’s her home too, afterall.

She also knows what it’s like to scrape by and need every single credit that comes her way. What kind of a hypocrite would she be to deny others the help she desperately needed when she was young?

It all endears her to the public even more.

At every stall there’s nothing unusual to report, and Rey keeps walking. 

Reaching the outskirts of town, a crumbling shadow of what Rey has just been through, she slows down. There’s less people to talk to, but more who could probably her help. Closing her eyes, she breathes deeply, letting the Force guide her footsteps to where she’s needed the most.

She walks over to a large piece of rusted over machinery, probably some kind of farming equipment by the looks of the blades miraculously still hanging onto the front. Rey spots a pile of blankets semi-hidden by the shadow of the machine. The blankets were shaking, soft sniffles and whimpers floating out from beneath them. 

Rey kneels slowly, sending out what she hopes are comforting thoughts. She peels the blanket back, revealing a head of iridescent maroon and plum colored scales. The being makes no attempt to ebb their tears, looking up at Rey with large bright and watery eyes. 

Rey doesn’t recognize the child’s species, she assumes they’re a child from what she can feel, but she knows she’s only seen a fraction of the galaxy and everyone in it. She feels them waiting for her to do something. Rey doesn’t know what they expect, so she lays her hand gently along the child’s cheek. 

“Tell me your heartaches, little one,” Rey says in a voice as tender as a spring breeze.

The child’s eyes widen before they throw themselves into Rey’s arms. The soft crying from earlier turns into unrestrained sobbing. A memory flashes into Rey’s mind, one of herself tucked into a corner biting back her own tears, but she pushes it away as she wraps her arms around the child. 

Rey doesn’t keep track of how long they’re there, focusing on the warmth and steady heartbeat she feels against her own. Eventually the sobs turn into hiccups and the hiccups into sniffling, and the child pushes themselves away enough to look back up at Rey’s face.

Rey thinks they look grateful, like a bit of their burden has been lifted from their small shoulders, but also confused. The child opens their mouth, a string of noises that reminds Rey of birds singing on Takodana. It’s a lovely sound.

Frowning once she realizes the child is trying to speak to her but unable to understand, Rey shakes her head softly and tries to think of a way to communicate. She shifts her body, now sitting cross-legged in the sand with the child in her lap. Reaching down to the ground, Rey uses a fingertip to draw her best approximation of the domed homes scattered around them, thinking hard at the child the feeling and concept of  _ home _ and  _ family _ . It might not work, but it was the best idea she has. 

The child stares at the drawing, furrowing their brow for a minute before looking up at Rey and sadly shaking their head. Following the child’s gaze back to the heap of machinery, Rey spots trinkets and more rags hidden beneath it. A fist squeezes around her heart at the familiar image.

That’s when Rey knows she can’t leave them here. She hasn’t seen anyone in town who looks like they may belong to the same group, and despite the dozen beings who passed them in the time they’ve been together, no one stopped to check on the poor child. If Rey left, they’d be alone, struggling to survive, believing no one wants them, growing up feeling like they have no value. 

Rey doesn’t want that for them. 

She doesn’t want that for anyone.

Rey touches their cheek again, looking into their dark, almost sparkling eyes. The arm still wrapped around the child squeezes their waist softly.

“Would you like to come with me?” Rey asks, hoping they understand they’ll be safe with her.

The child looks back at where they’ve been living before resting their head against Rey’s chest, letting out a sweet sounding note. 

Rey hears it as a  _ yes, please _ in her mind and blinks back the tears suddenly assaulting her vision. She nimbly pushes herself up, still cradling the child in her arms. Quickly scanning the ground, Rey determines there’s nothing that looks personal enough the child might want to take with them. They don’t stop stop Rey either, clinging to her robes, ready to go anywhere else that wasn’t here.

Rey takes a more direct route to the docking bay, nodding again at the old couple by the door. The child is asleep in Rey’s arms now, and not even buckling them up in the shuttle’s seat wakes them. It might be the first time in a long time the child has peacefully slept.

On the way back to the  _ Warm Sunlight _ , Rey thinks about the stories she knows of Jedi Academies and padawans. It doesn’t matter to her if this child is Force sensitive, Rey will still teach them. It’s what a Jedi is supposed to do.


End file.
